Chinese Conversation · Level 82
61 words
Chinese word
免得
Pronunciation
Pinyinmiǎn de
Meaning
- conjunctionso as not to
Example
早点出门，免得迟到。záo diǎn chū mén miǎn de chí dào
Leave early so as not to be late.
More examples
她换了密码，免得账号被盗。tā huàn le mì mǎ miǎn de zhàng hào bèi dào
She changed her password so that her account would not be stolen.
Core concept
A planned action keeps an unwanted result from happening.
Common phrases
免得麻烦miǎn de má fán
so as to avoid trouble
免得迟到miǎn de chí dào
so as not to be late
免得受骗miǎn de shòu piàn
so as not to be deceived
Similar words
以免yí miǎn: Presents an unwanted result that an action is intended to prevent in formal or written language.
以防yǐ fáng: Presents a possible bad event that a precaution is intended to prevent.
省得shěng de: Presents trouble or wasted effort that an action is intended to avoid in everyday speech.
Definition in Chinese
表示为了避免某种不希望发生的情况而采取前面的行动或建议，常放在句中或句首，后句多为不利后果。biǎo shì wèi le bì miǎn móu zhǒng bù xī wàng fā shēng de qíng kuàng ér cái qǔ qián miàn de xíng dòng huò jiàn yì cháng fàng zài jù zhōng huò jù shǒu hòu jù duō wèi bú lì hòu guǒ
Word origin
免得 (miǎnde, "so as not to") developed from 免 (miǎn, "avoid") + 得 (de, "come to"), linking avoidance with a possible result.
Usage tips
- In everyday conversation, it often follows a suggestion or plan and introduces the unwanted consequence, so the sentence usually moves from prevention to the problem.
Other meanings
- otherwiseconjunction